Sullivan & Son

After a successful first season last summer where it ranked as one of basic cable's top 10 new summer series with adults 18-34, TBS original comedy Sullivan & Son is set to return for a second season.  Starring comedian Steve Byrne and a strong ensemble cast, the show is sure to amuse some with wild humor in a classic sitcom setting while upsetting others with what could be interpreted as offensive comedy.

First, a bit of catch-up for those who haven't seen the show.  In Season 1, Steve Sullivan (Steve Byrne) returned home to Pittsburgh from New York City where he worked as an attorney.  His parents (Dan Lauria, ABC's The Wonder Years and Jodi Long, Beginners) are about to sell the neighborhood bar and retire, but Steve decides to purchase the bar and work there instead of dealing with his stressful corporate job.  Sullivan & Son is born as Steve's parents decide to continue working at the bar and the show revolves around an assortment of friends, relatives, and barflies.

The second season opens with "The Pilot, One More Time" premiering June 13th at 10 PM ET/9PM CT on TBS.  Steve's sister Susan (Vivan Bang, Yes Man) announces that she has ordered her husband to visit the bar in an attempt to de-stress from his hospital job.  Her husband Jason (guest star Ken Jeong, The Hangover) soon arrives and begins to have doubts about his career choice.

The next episode entitled "Acceptance" is set to air June 20th at 10 PM ET/9PM CT on TBS.  Bar regular Ahmed (Ahmed Ahmed, Iron Man) shows up with a very masculine date and the entire bar proceeds to make fun of him.  Ahmed boasts that he's the only one with a date on Saturday night and that everyone else has too high of standards.  As a result, some of the bar regulars make a pact to become more open and introduce themselves to new patrons that evening.

The first thing viewers will probably notice about the show is the presence of a laugh track.  Comedies without laugh tracks have become increasingly popular over the past 15 years, so unless you’re a big fan of CBS sitcoms it’s probably been a while since you’ve heard laughter during programming.  Although it fits the overall tone of the show, the canned laughter often runs over some of the dialogue making the actors difficult to understand.  The other major problem is the large amount of offensive jokes ripping on the Asian community.  Someone needs to tell the writers that these jokes are not OK just because the show features a multiethnic cast.  Not that I was personally offended by anything in particular, but it’s 2013 and these type of jokes are only going to attract the wrong sort of attention.

The large array of colorful characters add a freshness to the show where different cast members can be featured week to week.  Both of the episodes I watched featured a heavy dose of Brian Doyle-Murray (Groundhog Day) as a rude barfly with no filter between his brain and his mouth.  Comedy fans might also recognize talented standup Roy Wood, Jr. who deserves to be featured more prominently.  Sullivan & Son certainly isn’t for everyone, but those who can ignore the reliance on ethnic humor should enjoy themselves.